Thread: Matching new Baltic Pine to old

You could look around a couple of different demolition yards to see what they charge for recycled... i just got some recycled cypress the first place I called was over $6 per lm, but I ended up finding if for $1.20... it'd be worth a few phone calls at least...

Go with the recycled stuff.

Take a sanded off-cut of your existing floor to the second hand yard so you can best match the colour.

If you do decide to go with new Baltic (which has a hardness rating of, say, baby poo) with the idea of staining the lot, in an attempt to hide the difference in colour, you will need to go with a real dark stain - like a chocolate brown - which will do the trick. But, the downside here, is that the cost to have someone who is capable of doing that sort of stain work, far outweighs the cost of purchasing the second hand Baltic in the first place.

Talk to the sanders (a few of them) who do the finishing work, as they will give you a more accurate description of what to expect. Particularly, if they have done a bit of this sort of work in the past.

Baltic Pine comes in what is called "Deals". We have white, which is that honey colour we see in old Baltic after a 100 years of oxidization. We have red, which shows up as a magnificent red through to honey colour in almost a sunburst pattern. Quite spectacular. And, as your mate said, a bit harder.

The thing is with these boards, is that it takes up to sixty years for the true colours to start to come out as they darken in the presence of sunlight. I'm not sure if you've got that sort of time to spare.

So, I suggest second hand.